The Sacrament of Reconciliation is for our Spiritual Healing. According to the Gospels, after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the apostles, breathed on them, and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” (John 20:22-23) The reason for this sacrament is to heal our spiritual wounds, which we call sin.

Catholics must confess all known mortal sins to a priest. By doing this, we put ourselves in the state of grace necessary to receive the Holy Eucharist. Any venial, or minor sins we have committed are forgiven by receiving the Holy Eucharist.

Confessing sins to a priest is not as difficult as people think. Most people tell sensitive, delicate and confidential information to their doctor or lawyer, so why not a priest? The priest is bound by the most absolute secrecy and confidentiality known to humankind. Not even the Pope can get the priest to reveal what was said in the confessional.
 

I have not been to Reconciliation for a long time, how is it done?

We enter the confessional and greet the priest. We say, “Bless me Father for I have sinned, it has been (state how long) since my last confession.”

We confess all our mortal or serious sins and answer any questions the priest has.

When we have finished confessing we say an Act of Contrition, such as: “My God,
I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.  In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things.  I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.  Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.  In his name, my God, have mercy.”

The priest will say the prayer of Absolution and give us a penance to do.

We then leave and immediately perform the penance given to us.